Trivia / Don't Lose Your Head

• Actor-Inspired Element: Sid James and Jim Dale came up with the gag where a messenger is told to drop the message in to the basket and the Duc de Pommfrit will read it later.
• Billing Displacement: Despite only playing a small role (Citizen Robespierre, to be exact), "The Classic Carry On Film Collection" DVD boxset lists Peter Gilmore alongside the film's stars.
• Blooper:
  • Several of the same people are visible at every execution despite them mostly taking place on different days.
  • There is no blood visible on the guillotine blade after any of the executions.
  • The letter in the guillotine basket disappears and reappears between shots.
  • When Sir Rodney stuffs the snuff box into the guillotine, his hand moves higher between shots without having time to move it, while the box changes places without being moved.
  • When the guillotine is checked by Malabonce, his arms change between gripping the runners and being by his sides between shots.
  • When Citizen Camembert unfolds the Black Fingernail's calling card, his fingers on the card change position between shots.
  • Désirée's locket changes position without being moved during the ball.
  • Despite the Duc de Pommfrit hitting Citizen Camembert's thumb with a hammer, he wears a plaster on his forefinger.
  • The Châteauneuf is described as "Chateau Number Nine", when in actuality it would translate better to "The New Chateau".
  • Just before the fight scene in the Châteauneuf, Sir Rodney's right arm changes position between being raised and lowered several times between shots.
  • The slashes in the priceless tapestry change between shots, and the biggest slash happens twice (first in a close-up, then again in a wide shot).
  • When Citizen Bidet falls unconscious on the rug in the Châteauneuf, he is absent in some shots.
  • A soldier's hat disappears during the fight scene (the one who smashes the wine bottle with his sword).
  • The carriage outside the Châteauneuf diseappears at the end of the fight scene.
• Channel Hop: CEO Nat Cohen cut ties with the series after twelve Carry On films and various other comedy releases with Anglos Amalgamated. Peter Rogers claimed Cohen was suffering from "a touch of culture up his arse" and was forced to look for a new distribution company. The Rank Organisation proved willing. Legal questions over title ownership and Rank's concern over inheriting a rival's brand name led to this opening venture's abandonment of the Carry On prefix. In a post-production meeting in February 1967 Rogers commented that: "as the film was more visual than previous Carry On productions it could stand on its own without any reference to 'carry on'." Still, Rank was mindful of the success of the series and considered the release as "virtually the thirteenth Carry On film".
• Completely Different Title:
  • Hungary: Go on, Revolutionary!
• Creator Backlash: Kenneth Williams wasn't particularly happy with this film and wrote so in his diaries:
  Peter drove me to Windsor in 40 minutes (motorway) and we saw Don't Lose Your Head at the local ABC. It wasn't bad, but I realise there is no need to do all this character make-up. It just doesn't work for comedy. The thing is to look as pleasant as possible. I really should stop making all these faces too! They're quite absurd and unfunny. The fight sequences went on too long & Sid James really does look terribly battered and old. V. unattractive when he's making love to the girls in it – all rather disgusting.
• Dolled-Up Installment: This wasn't conceived as a part of the series and was first released without the Carry On prefix. However, the ongoing popularity of the series persuaded Rank to add the prefix to this and the following film when they were re-released.
• DVD Commentary: With Carry On historian Robert Ross talking to Jim Dale (Lord Darcy Pue).
• Edited for Syndication: Some reruns of the film remove the "My brother, the count" line.
• Fake Brit: The South African-born Sid James plays the British Sir Rodney.
• Hostility on the Set: A row broke out on the set between Joan Sims and Kenneth Williams because he had been rude to the husband and mother-in-law of Norah Holland (her stand-in) who had come to the set for a visit and were big fans of his. The feud continued for three days until Gerald Thomas took Williams aside for a private word. Williams also details a different clash between the two in his diaries:
  At lunchtime, I was launching into a dirty song at the restaurant and Joan Sims said, 'Give it a rest ducky - we've all had enough for one day' and I was furious. I said, 'You stupid cow - why don't you go to another table if you don't like the conversation?' and I spent the rest of the day ignoring her.
• Looping Lines: During the final fight scene, the Duc de Pommfit can be heard going "Ooh, I say!", while his mouth is clearly still laughing.
• Referenced by...: The film's poster appears in the 1967 film Two a Penny.
• Stunt Double: Diana MacNamara was Charles Hawtrey's stunt double in the film. Diana also played the role of Princess Stephanie.
• Uncredited Role:
  • Michael Nightingale as the man who asks about Désirée's locket.
  • Julian Orchard as a rake.
  • Ronnie Brody as a little man.
  • Hugh Futcher as a guard.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Two Taglines that went unused were "That 'Carry On' team has the French Revolution in Convulsions" and "Carry On Tumbrils - they're the new rescue squad of the French Revolution".
  • Eric Rogers' original theme for the film - a jazzy version of "Here We Come Gathering Nuts in May" - was replaced by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter's theme song.
  • The original script of the duel scene made it much more obvious that Sir Rodney intended to have Citizen Camembert fall into the cesspit and had a lot more waffling about from him. It was later rewritten to have the audience unaware of the punch line.
    Citizen Camembert: The Garden of Fragrance it is, sir. Er... where is that?
    Sir Rodney: You can't miss it. Just by the cesspit.
• Working Title: Alternate titles included Short Back and Sides, Heads You Lost, Death of a Hat Salesman, Daddy Wouldn't Buy Me a Tourniquet and A Romance of the French Revolution by Talbot Rothwell or a script with cuts in it by Ivor Guillotine.

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